NASA chief praises progress Blue Origin is making after launch failure
NASA chief praises progress Blue Origin is making after launch failure
NASA局长称赞蓝色起源在发射失败后的进展
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said this week that Blue Origin has been putting significant resources into the cleanup of its launch pad since the explosion of its New Glenn rocket there in late May. NASA局长贾里德·艾萨克曼（Jared Isaacman）本周表示，自5月下旬“新格伦”（New Glenn）火箭在发射台发生爆炸以来，蓝色起源公司一直在投入大量资源进行清理工作。
“Blue Origin’s response to the situation is almost beyond impressive, and that’s not just a NASA assessment,” Isaacman said in response to questions from reporters on Wednesday afternoon. He noted that officials from the US Space Force have also been deeply involved in Blue Origin’s planning and work since an anomaly during a test firing took out New Glenn’s only operational launch pad on May 28. “蓝色起源对这一情况的应对几乎令人印象深刻，这不仅仅是NASA的评估，”艾萨克曼在周三下午回答记者提问时说道。他指出，自5月28日一次测试点火期间的异常导致“新格伦”唯一的在役发射台损毁以来，美国太空军的官员也一直深度参与蓝色起源的规划和工作。
NASA has a significant stake in Blue Origin’s return to flight. It is counting on the company’s Mk. 1 lander to carry dozens of cargo missions to the Moon, and its Mk. 2 lander to eventually ferry people to the lunar surface. The company’s New Glenn rocket was expected to play a critical role in launching both of those landers. NASA在蓝色起源的复飞计划中利益攸关。NASA指望该公司的Mk. 1着陆器执行数十次月球货运任务，并希望其Mk. 2着陆器最终能将人类送上月球表面。而该公司的“新格伦”火箭预计将在发射这两款着陆器中发挥关键作用。
Plan A is to launch on New Glenn
方案A：使用“新格伦”火箭发射
Before the accident, Blue Origin had been hoping to launch its first Mk. 1 mission, named Endurance, later this year for a cargo landing on the Moon. Additionally, the company is developing a test version of the Mk. 2 lander for launch as part of the Artemis III mission, which NASA hopes to fly during the second half of next year. 事故发生前，蓝色起源曾希望在今年晚些时候发射其首个Mk. 1任务（名为“耐力号”），用于月球货运着陆。此外，该公司正在开发Mk. 2着陆器的测试版，作为“阿尔忒弥斯3号”（Artemis III）任务的一部分进行发射，NASA希望该任务能在明年下半年执行。
Blue Origin officials, including chief executive Dave Limp, have said the company is working toward rebuilding Launch Complex 36A, completing the anomaly investigation, and launching New Glenn on a return-to-flight mission before the end of this year. Privately, some NASA officials have expressed skepticism about this timeline. Most independent observers have suggested that a 12- to 18-month timeline is probably the most realistic for New Glenn’s return to flight. 包括首席执行官戴夫·林普（Dave Limp）在内的蓝色起源高管表示，公司正致力于重建36A发射场、完成异常调查，并争取在今年年底前让“新格伦”火箭执行复飞任务。私下里，一些NASA官员对这一时间表表示怀疑。大多数独立观察人士认为，12到18个月的时间表对于“新格伦”的复飞来说可能更为现实。
Isaacman stressed this week that NASA’s preferred option is for the Endurance mission, which will carry two NASA science and technology payloads to the lunar surface, to launch on New Glenn. “They’re making great progress,” Isaacman said of Blue Origin. “So plan A is very much still to launch the Mk. 1 on New Glenn. They are very committed to getting back in the business of launching New Glenn before the end of the year. And Plan A is looking a lot better today than it was weeks ago, just based on the progress that the Blue Origin team is making.” 艾萨克曼本周强调，NASA的首选方案仍是让“耐力号”任务（将搭载两项NASA科学技术载荷前往月球表面）通过“新格伦”火箭发射。“他们取得了巨大的进展，”艾萨克曼在谈到蓝色起源时说。“所以方案A仍然是使用‘新格伦’发射Mk. 1。他们非常致力于在年底前恢复‘新格伦’的发射业务。基于蓝色起源团队目前取得的进展，方案A看起来比几周前要乐观得多。”
NASA considering its options
NASA正在考虑其他选择
However, he added that prudence demands that NASA should also study alternative launch vehicles for the Endurance mission as well as Blue Origin’s lander for Artemis III. Options include SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy or United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan rockets. So NASA is closely watching Blue’s recovery. Isaacman said he receives daily updates from his team. 然而，他补充说，出于审慎考虑，NASA也应该研究“耐力号”任务以及蓝色起源“阿尔忒弥斯3号”着陆器的替代运载火箭。备选方案包括SpaceX的“猎鹰重型”火箭或联合发射联盟（ULA）的“火神”火箭。因此，NASA正在密切关注蓝色起源的恢复情况。艾萨克曼表示，他每天都会收到团队的最新进展汇报。
“We’ve got time into 2027 before we’re getting nervous,” Isaacman said. “If we start tracking towards mid-2027, that has implications for the Artemis III mission, and for uncrewed landers, and that would be more concerning.” “我们还有时间，直到2027年我们才会感到紧张，”艾萨克曼说。“如果我们开始拖到2027年中期，那将对‘阿尔忒弥斯3号’任务和无人着陆器产生影响，那会更令人担忧。”
Cranes enter the picture
起重机登场
Also on Wednesday, Limp provided additional information about the company’s plans to return to flight. “We continue to actively investigate the cause of the anomaly,” he wrote. “The vehicle is highly instrumented with extensive data from multiple camera angles and sensors, giving us confidence in our ability to identify and correct the root cause. Early analysis points to the aft section of the first stage.” 同样在周三，林普提供了关于公司复飞计划的更多信息。“我们继续积极调查异常原因，”他写道。“该运载火箭配备了高度精密的仪器，拥有来自多个摄像机角度和传感器的海量数据，这让我们有信心识别并纠正根本原因。初步分析指向第一级的后部。”
During the test anomaly, Blue Origin lost the lightning tower at its launch site as well as the massive transporter-erector, which moved the rocket from a nearby integration hangar out to the launch site and lifted it vertically for takeoff. To expedite a return to flight, Limp said, the company is not rebuilding the same pad and is skipping construction of a new transporter-erector (which would take a long time). 在测试异常期间，蓝色起源损失了发射场的避雷塔以及巨大的运输起竖车，该设备负责将火箭从附近的集成机库运送到发射场并将其垂直竖起以供起飞。林普表示，为了加快复飞进度，公司不会重建原有的发射台，并跳过了建造新运输起竖车的计划（因为那需要很长时间）。
The company released a video showing how its engineers envision this process working. It involves using a crane to lift the integrated first and second stages onto the launch mount. Once there, and after pre-flight testing, a payload fairing would be placed atop the vehicle ahead of launch. Isaacman lauded Blue Origin for this transparency as it moves toward returning to flight, noting the broad interest within the space community in this topic. 该公司发布了一段视频，展示了工程师们设想的运作流程。该方案涉及使用起重机将集成好的第一级和第二级火箭吊装到发射台上。一旦就位，在完成飞行前测试后，整流罩将在发射前安装在火箭顶部。艾萨克曼称赞蓝色起源在迈向复飞的过程中保持了这种透明度，并指出航天界对这一话题有着广泛的关注。